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The retailer has been increasing spend over the past quarter or so (research here), and CFO Corey Whitley said the company "expects" to see higher advertising costs continue through the end of their fiscal year in June. CEO Farooq Kathwari said that EA would start, from its Q3 (Jan. - March), to "substantially" increase its advertising by about 20% from the previous year. He added that EA expects to "further this increase as we move forward."

As part of this increase, EA is launching a "major" national TV campaign, increasing digital and social mediums and focusing on the attributes of the brand and less on discounting. He stated that most of the increased spend will be targeted to February and March, and includes "doubling" digital advertising.

Specifically, Kathwari said that Ethan Allen's Disney program, which is in about 175 locations as of December, has been "well received" by associates and from the end of January, EA will be increasing marketing around it. This includes reaching 4.5 million households by direct mail, advertising and communications through digital mediums. Additionally, the program will be sold through Disney.com by late February.

When asked about the company's homeowners marketing program with real estate agents, Kathwari responded, "I am sorry, what?" and then stated that the program was in its infancy and there is still more work to be done. This means there could be opportunity here to help get the program off the ground.

Chief Brand Officer Dave Moore left in 2015 after two years on the job. Company veteran Bridget DePasquale, VP of marketing services, is the top marketing decision maker now, and she has been with the company since 1998. Agency readers - shakeups at the top are the number one indicator of agency roster moves, so keep EA, with its increased advertising spend, on your radar. However, DePasquale's tenure could mean that she isn't keen on changing things drastically.

New Product Launch: Over the last year, EA has launched its Buckhead, Santa Monica and Brooklyn lines that aregeared toward a younger customer (June 2016). This was followed by the Ethan Allen Disney launch in fall 2016 (more

Target Audience: Kathwar said that, with the introduction of custom quick ship in March 2016, EA is starting to see new customers. The program has been well-received because it’s faster delivery on custom and is especially attracting a younger audience – the coveted millennial.

National TV Spend: For 2016, iSpot reports that EA spent only $1.9 million on six TV spots - most of which were run from January to the end of May (EA's Q3/Q4). There was one additional flight in mid-August, but it was small ("The Hottest Spot" aired for only four days; $66,000).

EA also ran a March campaign supporting the above-mentioned custom quick ship upholstery launch ($170,000). See chart for 2016 show targeting (note that all spots were run on HGTV).

2016 spend was slightly higher than 2015, when EA spent $1.4 million on national TV ads.

Digital Breakdown: Pathmatics reports that EA spent $274,000 on digital display ads in 2016 (47.2 million impressions). The majority of these ads were desktop ads, while 6% were mobile. See chart for impressions sources and spend share.